Cancellations in Bad Weather? You May Need A Specialist to Help Fill Open Slots

Posted by James Kanka on

Cancellations in bad weather? You may need a specialist to help you fill open slots. If you work in operations in a healthcare provider organization, then you know how bad it can get when the weather gets bad. Patients cancel or need to be rescheduled. Holes in the calendar have to be filled to avoid costly downtime. The phones are jammed and you might also be short-staffed.

Here’s how an actual medical practice in Baltimore is responding with technology:

We are a busy practice, and patients expect to wait at least three to four weeks for an appointment in the best of circumstances. Like any practice in our area, we get cancellations as soon as there is a hint of bad weather. But we hardly get stuck with any open slots. At least not for very long. As soon as someone cancels, the opening is posted on Everseat, and usually not more than a minute or two later an existing patient or even a new patient clicks on it to indicate they want to take that appointment. Our office is notified in real time and can determine in a matter of minutes whether it makes sense to fit them into that slot or to accommodate them in some other way. How do these patients know our available appointments are posted on Everseat? When they call us or visit the office, we tell them about it. We say that they can opt in for digital notification of available open slots. At any given time, we have dozens of people who have chosen to be pinged on their smartphone when something convenient for their specifications opens up. When they get in, they feel like they won the appointment lottery. And we are delighted because we are here to take care of our patients and there is nothing we would rather be doing.IMG_0781_2

Here are a few thoughts to consider as you cope with weather chaos or think about what you will do when it next comes your way:

  •    When patients start canceling, you need an efficient and reliable way to replace them with the right patients in the right slots.
  •    Using the phones to find the right patients on short notice is not easy. And it’s probably not working. At least not well enough.
  •    If your practice is closing due to weather, re-booking all of those patients will tie up your staff and your phones for hours.
  •    As great as your EHR or other tools are for many things, for this job you need technology, strategy and expertise
  •    With Everseat, you can automate the entire process. You will get more done in less time; for the practice and the patients.

Everseat partners with health and wellness provider organizations of all sizes across the United States. We want to work with you. Email us at providers@everseat.com. We can have you up and ready before bad weather hits again.

Better Slot Utilization is Easier With New Technology. Do it Right. Now.

Posted by James Kanka on

Tens of millions of people catch as many as a billion colds every year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. So curing the cold would be quite a breakthrough – and scientists say that day may come sooner than you think. Of course, while we are waiting, we know that millions of people will be trying to schedule appointments with their doctors, unsure whether or not the symptoms they are battling are actually something worse. And millions of doctors have unfilled appointment slots that they struggle to fill in an efficient manner. Too often, nobody wins!

So when is the big breakthrough coming in the seemingly simple task of making an appointment to see a doctor?

The good news is that the answer is right now. More and more healthcare providers are using modern methods of making convenient appointment times available to their patients who may be in the throes of “sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching” and – you get the idea.

According to a recent industry report, “by the end of 2019, 66% of US health systems will offer digital self-scheduling and 64% of patients will book appointments digitally”. The study predicted that by 2019, 100% of the 100 largest healthcare delivery systems in the U.S. would offer digital scheduling to patients.

Why are caregivers finally taking this leap forward? A few reasons.

We have the technology! The technology is available to move beyond the 1876 innovation of Alexander Graham Bell. Ring, ring! We can now harness the power of the internet to efficiently connect us all with what we need, when we need it. Simply put, it works. Patients don’t want, nor do they have time, to be on the phone. An Accenture study found that the average healthcare appointment scheduling call is over 8 minutes and a caller is likely to get transferred during the call 63% of the time. Infuriating. And no longer necessary, much of the time.

Power to the Patients! Patients have demanded this change. A recent survey found that 44 percent would choose a doctor that allows them to schedule appointments online. More patients than ever before are voting with their feet, and either switching doctors if we find it hard to make an appointment; or going to rival urgent care centers and other alternatives.

The Bottom Line is the Bottom Line! Healthcare provider organizations lose significant potential revenue when they fail to fill slots. At a conference in New England where Everseat was present, a prominent hospital executive reported that his institution sees 1500 to 2,000 appointment slots wasted every week. Imagine the lost revenue. Some say digital scheduling will mean “$3.2 billion in value and a competitive boost for health systems” and it comes from filling slots.

In one orthopedics group we work with at Everseat, when you call to schedule an appointment and find yourself on hold, you will hear something like this:

“Thank you for calling. Please know that you do not have to wait on hold to make an appointment. You can hang up right now and go straight to our website because we post many of our upcoming open appointment slots right there, powered by Everseat. With a few clicks, you will be able to select an appointment that works for you, or let us know that you want to be alerted as soon as one opens up.”

Who knew something that seems so simple as going online to point and click on a website or a mobile app would pass as a major breakthrough! But it makes things easier and could actually make us all healthier too. And again, the business case speaks for itself. With cold season coming, these are compelling reasons for change – and nothing to sniff at, if you pardon the pun. For healthcare providers, this is serious business.

Now if getting rid of the common cold were only as easy. Here’s hoping that those researchers figure it out soon.

If you are with a healthcare provider organization and would like to learn more about what Everseat can do to maximize schedule utilization for you, please see our website at www.everseat.com for videos and more information. If you are someone who just wants to make getting appointments easier – download the Everseat app and follow the directions right to your next doctor’s visit. Thank you.